Writing BETWEEN Worlds

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Writing Sentences

Lately, I have been more focused than ever before on writing sentences. While this might seem intuitive for a writer, it can sometimes be taken for granted.

Do you remember when you were in elementary school and sentences were simple? They could be three words long and say everything they needed to say. In fact, you could communicate volumes with them in the right combinations. Consider the following anecdote concerning Ernest Hemingway:

Hemingway’s purported authorship usually centers upon him doing so as the result of a wager between him and other writers. In a 1992 letter to Canadian humorist John Robert Colombo, science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke recounts it thus: While lunching with friends at a restaurant (variously identified as Luchow’s or The Algonquin), Hemingway bets the table ten dollars each that he can craft an entire story in six words. After the pot is assembled, Hemingway writes “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” on a napkin, passes this around the table, and collects his winnings.

Indeed, sentences can be powerful and full of life. Remember this as you write yours.